Samsung and Hitachi may have agreed to drop all pending patent-infringement lawsuits against each other over hard disk drive patents, but Samsung's legal woes are not over in the LCD field. Earlier this month Sharp sued Samsung Electronics, accusing the Korean company of infringing on three patents related to LCD panels used in high definition TVs. And now the world's top maker of large-size LCDs is firing back.
Samsung Electronics has filed a complaint with American authorities over alleged unfair trade practices by Sharp and is requesting an investigation by the US International Trade Commission. Both companies are seeking injunctions barring the sale and distribution in the U.S. of products they claim infringe on their patents.
The patent battle highlights not only the fierce competition spurred by declining prices in the flat-panel TV market, but is also an example of how that fierce competition is forcing Asian technology companies to focus on intellectual property to maintain an edge as they vie for market share.